bike (not butt) sores

[cornia]

Help, Thank goodness for women's pages. I was getting internal sores after only an hour of riding. Adding a panty liner (bleeding) made it worse. Got less padded shorts and helped. Got a bike fit and helped more. But after about 2-3 hrs it's getting sore and need to put more weight on hands (then they get tired). With my slow biking and getting ready for my first 1/2 ironman 4 hrs and i'll be a mess. Has anybody ever had this? Is it because i'm older (55) and droppier (can't believe i'm even asking these things)? Any help would be appreciated, Grandma

[velogirl]

Are you referring to hemorrhoids?

[bcipam]

When you got the bike fit did you explain to the fitter about your problems? I'm assuming you mean the female groin area, the pubic bone etc. If only after an hour you have pain something is really wrong. I usually get pain but after 3 - 4 hours of riding. Make sure you are wearing properly fitted bike shorts with a good chamois, wear no underwear or liners go "commando to prevent irritation and chafing. Get a 6 panel + short (8 panel is best). 4 panel shorts sometimes have seams that can irritate. Make sure you have the proper saddle for you. If you are chafing inside your legs, then the saddle maybe too wide. Get one narrower and not as "cushy." A saddle with a female specific cut-out might help. Make sure you are properly positioned on the saddle (not too forward or too far back).

Note, most of us get sore down there. You need to make sure you are giving yourself a break and lift out of the saddle now and then. Unfortunately it's just a hazard of cycling.

[cornia]

nope, not hemrroids - this is as my mother use to say "our little girl parts". and when i'm done riding we are not in the pain like bone pain, we're talking irritated inside pain (internal - as to the stupid thinking a panty liner would help - duh!). think saddle is the answer. need to find one that will put more pressure on butt bones and not so much on front! thanx you guys, as this is all new to me (computer & biking!) and so great to get some help, grandma

[Duck on Wheels]

My daughter was also plagued with pain in the "girly bits" after long rides. When she visited me this last weekend, we went to a couple of well-stocked bike stores and she tried saddles. The stores had them mounted on seat posts so they could set them up on bikes in the blink of an eye. Some stores put the saddles on a stationary bike (a bike on a trainer stand); some let her ride out on a bikepath nearby. The saddles felt very different indeed! I tried a few! We both found the same one to be our favourite, but this all depends on your personal bone and soft part structures. I recommend that you find a good bike store and try saddles. The right saddle may solve your problem.

[Grog]

nope, not hemrroids - this is as my mother use to say "our little girl parts". and when i'm done riding we are not in the pain like bone pain, we're talking irritated inside pain (internal - as to the stupid thinking a panty liner would help - duh!). think saddle is the answer. need to find one that will put more pressure on butt bones and not so much on front! thanx you guys, as this is all new to me (computer & biking!) and so great to get some help, grandma

Is your saddle level or slightly tilted? Maybe you just need to change the angle a LITTLE bit (like 1-2-3 degrees...)...

[mimitabby]

nope, not hemrroids - this is as my mother use to say "our little girl parts". and when i'm done riding we are not in the pain like bone pain, we're talking irritated inside pain (internal - as to the stupid thinking a panty liner would help - duh!). think saddle is the answer. need to find one that will put more pressure on butt bones and not so much on front! thanx you guys, as this is all new to me (computer & biking!) and so great to get some help, grandma

Cornia, I'm 54 and in THE LAST YEAR I have noticed that these things are getting worse. DO buy that goop, chamois butter, and slather it before a ride.
That helps a little.
Go to the bike seat discussion forum and look at all the chatter there about this very problem.
I tried to get a woman's special saddle, with the girl parts cut out and all that, but then it was eating into some other delicate areas. There's an article that Josuah Cohen wrote that is for sale on line
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=6246
that's the link to the thread about it. After reading his article, I bought a brooks b67 which is not as good in the front as it could be, but it spreads the weight and pressure around so it is remarkably better at least for me.
I realize now that with Menopause, I'm never going to be what i was so I have to deal with it!
feel free to write off line if you like.
mimi